Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Here I am starting to show some images of some of the street life in India. This image is from the way of the Lotus Temple (open to all religions) in India backwards to the Gate of India, which is on the way of the Red Fort.

Here we see poverty in the streets of India. This guy lost one eye and was severely suffering in the sun and the bad pollution of the streets. As he looked up and saw us, he started to rattle his nails on the metal of the car, making a horrible, tapping noise in an attempt to call attention to his status.

On arrival to the Red Fort, of which you can see an image here, you can see one of the oldest establishments in Delhi. Actually, it was said that Delhi was established in this neighborhood, near the river, as a rather small establishment. Later on the moguls got settled.

There is a famous "peacock-throne", which in 17-something was taken to Iran (Tehran), where it is still on display, robbed from this place.

The Red Fort was also the place where Nehru, president of India and Gandhi, religious leader of India adressed the people for social reform.

As you can see on the left, inside the red fort there is a mosque and other quite old buildings that are definitely worth a visit. Basically, as you enter you go through a bazaar, a range of shops, but then very quickly enter a godly garden where you feel how the old ancestors of India are watching you. This photo shows the detail in the pillars.

In contrast with the beauty of the temple and things to see, I am also showing some more terrifying pictures of the state of infrastructure, electricity and public services of India. This picture shows the state of electrical installation that you might encounter in any common restaurant in India. Now, this is not a picture of just *one* fan in that place. *ALL* the fans in that restaurant were rigged in a similar way, up to the fan would just work again. It does show a misunderstanding or fault in the way how people (dis)regard structure, infrastructure and electricity. When I see these things as a software engineer, I start to seriously distrust the quality in software engineering as well.

Well, on these serious notes... the pollution in this city of Delhi is severe. Some books are noting that walking through the city of Delhi for a day equals smoking 20 cigarettes. Walking in the center equals 40 cigarettes. My throat is indeed starting to get irritated in this city. At night after the fort we could clearly see a thick layer of fog throughout the city, which indicates the level of pollution.

The government of India has put out a ban on smoking in public places to increase the quality of air that people are breathing, plus that cars older than 8 years are no longer allowed to go through the city.

At the end of the day, what is remaining, is to finish it with a cup of coffee like this and get ready for the next trip (tomorrow we're going to "Agra", where the Taj Mahal is located, which is one of the goals of our trip):